Manufacturingsuccess
Predictive Maintenance Done Right: A Manufacturing Success Story
Pilot DisciplineScale Strategy
← All Case Studies
Consumer Goodssuccess
How Going Deep in Marketing Beat Scattering Pilots Across the Enterprise
Global Consumer Goods Company
500+
marketers
60% faster
concept Speed
30%+
efficiency
4
markets
The Challenge
The company identified AI use cases across the entire business. Leadership had to choose between broad experimentation across many functions and focused depth in a single high-impact area.
The Approach
They conducted a time-and-motion study of 2,000+ marketers, cataloguing 300 tasks. From this, they identified 10-12 high-impact solutions and ran 5 "proofs of value" (not proofs of concept) with predefined efficiency targets.
The Results
Product concepts were developed 60% faster. Marketing processes became 30%+ more efficient. The approach was deployed to 500+ marketers across 4 markets, validating scale before broader rollout.
Seven Pillar Insights
Pilot Discipline
Running 5 deep "proofs of value" with predefined targets produced more scalable results than scattering dozens of proofs of concept across the enterprise.
Scale Strategy
Proving value in one function across 4 markets created a replicable playbook for enterprise-wide expansion.
Key Lessons
1
Proofs of value beat proofs of concept — define measurable targets upfront
2
Fewer, deeper pilots outperform many shallow ones
3
BCG data shows "deep and narrow" delivers 2x ROI versus "shallow and broad"
Related Case Studies
Ready to Avoid These Pitfalls?
Take the AI Leadership Assessment to identify your organization's strengths and vulnerabilities.
Want expert guidance on your AI strategy?
Schedule a consultation with Neil to explore how these lessons apply to your organization.
Schedule a Consultation